Chris Hemsworth Has A Message About Thor: Ragnarok Shooting In Australia

Earlier today, the Australian government announced that two major Hollywood films were headed to the land Down Under: Thor: Ragnarok and Alien: Paradise Lost. During the presentation, they played a special video message from Marvel superstar and Australian native Chris Hemsworth expressing gratitude to the government for helping to secure this deal.

"I want to say a huge thank you to the federal government," Hemsworth says in the video. "Particularly, for the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, and Minister for the Arts, Mitch Fifield, for making it possible for Thor: Ragnarok to shoot here in Australia. I'm incredibly excited to be coming back home to work and here with our extremely talented production industry which I think is one of the best in the world. It's fantastic to see the government and the Prime Minister supporting our creative industries. I look forward to introducing my Marvel friends to this beautiful country of ours."

‘Thor: Ragnarok’: Mark Ruffalo Says the Film Will Be a “Buddy Picture”

Mark Ruffalo is currently making the promotional rounds for his new journalism drama Spotlight, and you know what that means: Time for interviewers to poke and prod about Marvel. The Bruce Banner actor will make his next MCU appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, and despite all the apocalyptic action that will likely take place, Ruffalo sees it as a “buddy picture.”

New York Daily News caught up with the actor for an interview recently and got him talking about the role this giant, green rage monster has in the film. Ruffalo said:

I don’t really know that much about it, but I think it’s going to be a buddy picture with Thor and Bruce Banner.

Before they can be all buddy-buddy with each other, Hulk has to actually get to Asgard. The last we saw, he was jetting off in a cloaked quinjet to some unknown location relatively near Fiji. Perhaps he stumbles onto one of those secret side-portals, like the ones Loki used to deck out of his home world. Perhaps there’s some threat Thor encounters that requires Banner’s (or Hulk’s) expertise. There hasn’t been much of a relationship between these two characters on screen, other than their brawl on the helicarrier and famous side punch in The Avengers, so this dynamic shift should be interesting.

Speaking of that side punch, though, Ruffalo says there’ll be more of it.

I think they’ll probably fight. There’s no doubt, everyone wants us to fight at one point.

The last we heard of Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel announced pre-production would take place in Queensland, Australia beginning in January. Though the title clearly refers to the end times of Norse mythology, not much is known about the plot of the film, as it will more than likely differ from the comics. Ruffalo said of the title:

I know that it’s about [the Norse legends of] “Ragnarok,” or the end times in the Marvel universe as it pertains to Thor — which seems to be quite the theme these days in movies.

Cate Blanchett Joining 'Thor 3' It is unclear what character the actress would play.

Cate Blanchett, coming off her best actress nomination for the 1950s-set drama Carol, is in final negotiations to join Thor: Ragnarok, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The move comes a little more than a week after the Marvel Studios project hired Stephany Folsom to work on the script.

It is unclear what character Blanchett would play, but several sources say that Marvel has been on the hunt for a “bad-ass female.”

Taika Waititi, who co-wrote and co-directed vampire spoof What We Do in the Shadows, is directing the project, the third installment of Marvel’s Thor movies.

Chris Hemsworth will be back as the Norse god of thunder for the pic that is also due to feature a team-up with the Hulk.

Marvel has always tried to go outside the box when it comes to casting its features (and went even further with the actors hired for Doctor Strange), but the Thor movies have consistently attracted top global talent, ranging from Anthony Hopkins to Idris Elba.

Is Cate Blanchett playing the Thor: Ragnarok villain? Mark Ruffalo says so

It was previously confirmed that Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett was in talks for a role in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, though there has been no word on who she could be playing in the film, until now. Speaking with ET, Mark Ruffalo, who will reprise his role of The Hulk in the film, was asked how he felt about Blanchett joining the film, replying:

“I’m so thrilled. I saw her at the Governors’ banquet here and heard that maybe she was circling, they were talking to her about the part, so I ran up to her and I was like, ‘Please, please, please make this work!’ She’s just one of the best, and to have her play a baddie is going to be really exciting.”

Which “baddie” Ruffalo might be referring to remains to be seen, but some female Thor villains that could appear are Amora the Enchantress, a powerful sorceress who has bewitched the God of Thunder a number of times before, or Hela, the alleged daughter of Loki and ruler of the spirits of the dead. You can watch the video interview in the player below.

Thor: Ragnarok, aimed to close out the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Asgardian trilogy, will continue the cliffhanger ending of Thor: The Dark World wherein it was revealed that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has secretly taken the Asgardian throne in guise of his adoptive father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). The story will reportedly center on a “distant planet” that is “not Asgard and not Earth.” It’s unclear what this planet might be in the context of the film, although the constant rumors (amid denials) of a Planet Hulk film are likely to feed into fan speculation. It has also been confirmed that Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk will play a major part in the storyline.

The “Phase Three” entry recently brought aboard 2013 “Black List” screenwriter Stephany Folsom. Previously, Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle have worked on the script. Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows helmer Taika Waititi, meanwhile, is directing Thor: Ragnarok. Look for it to open in theaters on November 3, 2017 in 3D/2D theaters and IMAX.